


The Vampire's Manager

by AquaTheLita



Category: Diabolik Lovers
Genre: Exposition, Gen, Kou's Manager - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-03
Updated: 2018-09-03
Packaged: 2019-07-06 14:53:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15888297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AquaTheLita/pseuds/AquaTheLita
Summary: It's not easy being the manager for Kou Mukami. The fact that he's a vampire makes things a bit more difficult. Despite all the trouble that lovable brat puts his manager through, the two have a very close relationship, and his manager doesn't intend on exposing his secret or giving up on him anytime soon.





	The Vampire's Manager

**Author's Note:**

> This was written in January of this year. This fandom needs more fics involving Kou's manager. Here's one to contribute to that. It's a bit heavy with exposition, but I hope you guys enjoy it anyway.

_  “He looks like he’s only 17!” _

_ “I think he is only 17.” _

_ “No way! He’s looked like that for years!” _

_ “He doesn’t age!” _

_ “His canines are so sharp...maybe he’s a vampire?” _

_ “That would explain why he doesn’t age.” _

_ “Nah, it’s just his aesthetic.” _

_ “But what if he really is...?” _

The fans would always wonder and gossip, and some of them would even insist that the rumors were true (which they were). But absolutely none of them (as far as he knew) had any actual evidence to prove that Kou Mukami was actually a vampire. Any “proof” they had could easily be debunked as speculation, photomanipulation, and makeup. 

There was only one person in his idol life that he was aware of who knew for certain that he was what he was:

His manager. 

When Kou first became an idol, he tried his best to hide it from everyone he worked with, including his manager. He worried that they wouldn’t want to work with him anymore if they knew, that they would end up scared of him or disgusted by him for what he was, that they would expose him to the world for money and/or publicity.

He figured that if anyone would find out first it would be members of his makeup crew, who worked intimately with his face and surely wondered about his sharp canines. But as it turned out, his manager was the first to figure out the truth. They had suspected it for weeks, but finally figured out the truth two months into becoming his manager, when they found him passed out in his dressing room after having stayed awake for several days straight practicing for an upcoming show. They had checked his pulse to make sure he was alive, only to discover he didn’t have one. They nearly panicked, but once Kou stirred and murmured in his sleep they put the pieces together and realized that Kou was a vampire. They didn’t tell him that they knew the truth until about a month later, when they caught them drinking from a suspicious liquid...

_ “KOU! WHAT ARE YOU DRINKING?” _

_ He nearly choked mid-gulp. His manager had entered his dressing room so quietly he didn’t notice it. He spun around, the open bottle still in his hands. “Uhhhh...” _

_ They crossed their arms, glaring at him. “That had better be blood and not wine. I’m not letting you go on stage tipsy again.” _

_ His eyes widened at the mention of blood. “Blood?” he repeated, with a confused frown, one that hid his nervousness. “Why would it be blood?” _

_ His manager rolled their eyes and sighed. “I know you’re a vampire, Kou.” _

_ He simply grinned and chuckled. “Don’t tell me you of all people believe those silly rumors, too.” _

_ They looked him dead in the eye, their expression completely serious. “I know it’s not a rumor. I found you passed out in here a month ago, without a pulse, but definitely alive.” _

_ Kou’s smile faded, and he stared at them blankly for a few moments. Then he cracked a nervous smile--showing off his fangs--and shrugged. “He he he...surpriseeee...” _

Thankfully, they were pretty chill about it. Kou was thrilled when they said they wouldn’t drop him just because he was a vampire. They weren’t scared of him for what he was, they weren’t unwilling to work with him knowing what he was, they weren’t mad at him for keeping it a secret from them, and they were willing to keep that secret from everyone else. In fact, they made an extra effort to help hide Kou’s species from the rest of the crew, the people he worked and performed with, and of course the fans.

After the water bottle incident, Kou explained that the blood in the bottle was from one of the emergency blood packets he kept for cases when he knew he would be too busy to actually get fresh blood, such as when he threw himself into a voluntary week-long nonstop practice session, or he had a tour packed with events and interviews and bus and plane rides. He usually was discreet about it. However, that was only for emergencies. His manager made it very clear how they felt about Kou using them as a source of blood...

_ “If you even think of even touching my neck, I’m dropping you.” _

It was an understandable threat, and one that Kou took seriously. He had other ways of getting blood, anyway, both off and on the job...

_ “So you  _ have _  been feeding from your fangirls!” _

_ Kou simply shrugged and smirked. “What? How can I resist? They practically throw themselves at me. They would let me do pretty much anything to them.” _

_ His manager sighed and facepalmed, then lowered their hand and looked up. “You know what, whatever. Keep doing what you’re doing. Just don’t kill them, and  _ definitely _  do not get caught.” _

_ Kou grinned. “Don’t worry. I’ll be careful~” _

He wasn’t nearly as careful as he probably should have been. 

_ His manager stood before him, eyes shut tightly, massaging the bridge of their nose between their fingers. “Kou, if you’re going to feed from your fangirls, at least don’t leave them passed out in your dressing room for someone else to have to retrieve and take back home. It’s a pain in my neck to get them home  _ and _  explain why they’re passed out there in the first place.” _

Since his secret was out to his manager, he felt more relaxed about the whole thing...a little _too_  relaxed. He didn’t have to make up lies excuses for them about certain things, but along with that, he wasn’t nearly as careful as he should have been about certain other things, much to their dismay...

_ “Can’t you be a bit neater when feeding from your fans? The costume crew isn’t going to keep believing that you get nosebleeds and razor knicks every single week.”  _

In addition to covering up for him in certain cases where his vampiric identity might be revealed--both with the people he worked with, and the people he performed and modeled for--they often had to discourage him from doing things that would outright expose him as a supernatural being, such as break things when he got frustrated that a normal human shouldn’t be able to break, or teleport across the stage during a show which the people in charge of lighting certainly would not have been warned about. 

_ “Kou, I know that it’s a full moon...but I want you to behave.” _

_ Kou flashed them a reassuring smile. “I’ll be fine~ I’m not going to attack anyone.” _

_ “I’m not talking about your thirst. I mean, don’t fly around the stage again just because ‘it looks cool’ and ‘the fans love it.’ I don’t want to have to come up with another excuse for to the stage crew for how you flew around without any sort of harnesses.” _

_ He sighed and frowned deeply, a disappointed look in his eyes. “Fiiiine.” _

Though he more or less behaved on-stage, off-stage he felt a bit more free to use his vampiric abilities around his manager...

_ “JESUS CHRIST, KOU! STOP TELEPORTING BEHIND ME!” _

It was hilarious to see them jump from a mere shoulder tap or unexpected greeting whenever he suddenly appeared behind them. Unfortunately, they eventually got used to this and learned to expect it, and their reactions weren’t nearly as dramatic or amusing as they once were.

Aside from the vampire-related annoyances, his manager had to put up with Kou’s bipolar personality, his snarky attitude, and his stubborn nature. At times he either underworked or overworked himself, and occasionally acted like a child when things didn’t go his way. His manager worked with him through it all, half of the time making Kou see reason and keeping him in line, the other half of the time giving up and letting the young idol do what he wanted. It balanced out pretty well, and that was enough to keep them from bailing on him altogether. 

Despite the trouble and aggravation, Kou caused his manager, the two of them had a pretty good relationship. Over time they naturally grew closer, becoming almost like casual friends, being more open and trusting with each other. They chatted about their lives back home, texted relatively often to check in with each other, and even revealed a few secrets about themselves. Kou actually told them some things about vampires, and even a bit about his past. He explained how his special eye worked, which intrigued them. The knowledge of this eye never really came up...but in one particular instance it was very useful. 

_ There they stood in Kou’s dressing room, in front of the shaking idol, who was hugging himself tightly with his head bowed low. An unexpected emotional breakdown on account of a sudden decrease in confidence and increase in insecurity was preventing him from going on stage. Kou demanded that the show be canceled, but his manager was here to talk him out of it and get him to reconsider. It wasn’t just a matter of making sure the show went on, it was a matter of preventing Kou from giving up even when he was in a dark spot.  _

_ “You’re going to be fine, Kou,” his manager insisted. “You’ll do great. You’re talented and the fans love you.” _

_ “You’re only saying that because you’re my manager!” he shouted, tears in his cold blue eyes, a sharpness in his shaky tone. “You  _ have _  to encourage me. You don’t really mean what you say! You just profit off of me...like everyone else does.” _

_ They put one hand on one of Kou’s shoulders, their other hand brushing his bangs away from in front of his right eye. They looked directly into that special truth-seeing eye and said, “Would I lie to you, knowing about that eye of yours?” _

_ Kou lifted his head and stared back at them for a few moments. His lips slowly formed a smile, and the light gradually returned to his eyes. “Hah...I know you wouldn’t.” _

_ They smiled back at him. “Exactly.” They let go of him and stepped back. “Now get out there and show them what you’re made of!” _

His manager visited the Mukami mansion many times, whether to check on Kou if he was sick or to have dinner with Mukamis or simply to stop by and say hi. They did so with full confidence for their safety. They gave Kou’s brothers the same ultimatum that they gave Kou: 

_ “If you even touch me, and Kou’s career is over.”  _

The other three Mukamis also respected that threat, since 90% of their income came from Kou (the rest came from Karl, whenever he was feeling particularly generous). They grew pretty close with the others as well, though obviously not as close as they were with Kou. They sometimes helped Ruki cook, helped Yuma garden, and they even once bought Azusa an ornate knife from a foreign country Kou toured in (meaning that Azusa ended up with _two_  knives from there, since Kou also bought him one). 

As thanks for being so patient, understanding, and tolerant with him about the whole vampire situation, Kou made a promise that if they ever needed his help for any reason at all, they could call on him and he would be there in an instant. He even implied once that he would kill to protect them, if necessary. Though the thought was unsettling, they were thankful for it. They thought it was pretty cool that Kou was a vampire, but never made a big deal out of it. Anything they chastised Kou for related to his vampirism held just as much significance as any other grievance he caused, no more and no less. However, they knew that they had a responsibility as his manager to help keep his secret, to cover for him if something might be discovered, and to discourage him from doing stupid things that might expose his identity. 

The one thing that Kou never really told his manager was that he was not just a vampire, but actually a half-vampire. His manager knew his past, but was not aware that he and his adoptive brothers lived their torturous childhoods as humans, and were later turned into vampires by their “father,” Karlheinz. They had yet to ask about whether such a thing was possible, but Kou worried that if he did mention it his manager would ask him to turn them into a vampire at some point, for one reason or another. Though they didn’t really seem like the kind of person to care about such a thing as immortality, Kou couldn’t help wonder how he might respond to such a request. He figured he would say no, but there was a chance that he would cave and give them what they wanted. 

_ “Go easy on me for once, alright? Behave today. I already have so many grey hairs from you. I’m not getting any younger, and I’m not an immortal like you.” _

Kou knew that he couldn’t remain an idol forever. Since he was a vampire, it would be many decades before he actually started looking even a year older. Although it could mostly be written off as the product of makeup and special effects, eventually people would grow dangerously suspicious of why he didn’t seem to age even a day, which would only add on to the rumors caused by the presence of his fangs (which could only be hidden to a certain extent). One day he would have to either quit, or somehow change his stage identity to hide his true identity. In any case, one day he would eventually have to part ways with his manager, which would no doubt be a very bittersweet moment. And thinking even further into the future, Kou knew that one day he would outlive his manager, and they would die while he remained young and immortal. That thought saddened him even more than the thought of having to cut ties with them.

Kou tried not to think about that too much, simply living in the moment, living for the next show, living for his brothers, and living for and his manager. Life was good. It was stressful, of course, but good. He loved his life, he loved his fans, he loved his home, and he loved his family. And as time went on, he was more inclined to think that his “family” included his manager. As such, he would fiercely protect and care for them, like he did with his brothers. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. Feedback and criticism are always appreciated.


End file.
